World powers laud "useful" nuclear talks with Iran

The G5+1 says its talks with Iran in Kazakhstan were "useful" and it will actively use diplomatic means in the coming months in order to achieve concrete results. The world powers met with the Iranian delegation on February 26 and 27 in the Kazakh capital of Almaty after an eight-month hiatus.

Reuters reports that the announcement was delivered on Wednesday at the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting in Vienna. The parties are set to meet again in Almaty in April, and later this month, technical experts from both sides will meet in Istanbul.

The world powers urged Iran to take "substantive steps" toward complete collaboration with the IAEA.

The statement comes a day after U.S. Vice President Joe Biden once again threatened that the U.S. president was not bluffing about his readiness to use violent force against Iran, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Israeli beat on his war drums by emphasizing Israel's "credible military threat" against Iran.

Despite Western suspicions about Iran's nuclear program, Iran maintains that its atomic program is completely peaceful and that, as an NPT signatory, it has a right to continue all the activities it is currently carrying out at its nuclear facilities.

The U.S. and the EU have imposed severe sanctions against Iran. Iran has said that the resolution of the nuclear talks can only be achieved through the easing of sanctions.